Turkey Hunting in MA

[AmeriKHAN]

Any Turkey hunters here? I am trying to get my first Turkey this year, but I'm not sure where to go. I live in Ashland and I usually hunt Wayne F. McCollum (Squirrels, rabbits, and pheasants mostly) in Westborough. Any good public land to check out?

 

[RDG]

Start scouting now... early AM's. Listen for gobblers. Same in the evening.. find where birds roost.
WMA's ( ast least out my way) can be tough for turkey... lots of pressure.
Drive around in the morning too... start looking for them in fields.
Our season is timed pretty late, much of the breeding is over. Get out as much as you can the first week. Birds get educated quick after that and the gobbling slows down.

It's crappy pic with my cell looking through my binos... but I found these guys this week doing some scouting.
There'll be somewhere in the area hoping in a month.

 

[LakeTrout]

Any Turkey hunters here? I am trying to get my first Turkey this year, but I'm not sure where to go. I live in Ashland and I usually hunt Wayne F. McCollum in Westborough. Any good public land to check out?

The hunting forum might be a good place to start.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

@RDG is spot on.

Don’t forget your dumb azz sticker

 

[Woodsloafer]

There's plenty around in north central MA. These guys/gals are usually wandering around me while I'm puttering around at my land. I've had 12 toms/jakes and over 70 birds altogether at once.

 

[Woodsloafer]

This one is in the backyard at the house every day.

 

[AmeriKHAN]

There's plenty around in north central MA. These guys/gals are usually wandering around me while I'm puttering around at my land. I've had 12 toms/jakes and over 70 birds altogether at once.

View attachment 865289View attachment 865290

Oh yea they're everywhere. Got at least 20 in the woods behind my house. At least it gives me a chance to practice with my slate call and decoys. I just open the porch door and call them into the backyard so I know I'm doing something right haha. Unfortunately, Ashland is a no hunt or firearm discharge town.

@RDG is spot on.

Don’t forget your dumb azz sticker

Just got em the mail.

 

[MisterHappy]

Do you belong to a Club? I know that mine allows members to hunt the property.

"Membership has its privileges," or so they say.

 

[AmeriKHAN]

Do you belong to a Club? I know that mine allows members to hunt the property.

"Membership has its privileges," or so they say.

Masspenock R&G in Milford. Completely forgot I could hunt there and I've seen Turkeys sitting on the rifle range without a damn care in the world about the gun fire.

 

[MisterHappy]

The NES Hive Mind comes through, again.


Good hunting.

 

[ccm75]

Any Turkey hunters here? I am trying to get my first Turkey this year, but I'm not sure where to go. I live in Ashland and I usually hunt Wayne F. McCollum in Westborough. Any good public land to check out?

Turkey hunting on the Westboro WMA is very challenging. I have killed a couple there but its not easy.
Too many dog walkers, runners and bikers. And the noise level from trucks and school buses nearby does not help.

You need to find some private land to hunt.
Years ago after listening to a Meateater podcast talking about "e-scouting", I pulled up some Google Earth maps of neighboring towns that had more open space and agriculture.
I found some land adjacent to state/town land with two old farms.....Looked really nice for turkeys and deer.
I drove out there, cruised around and stopped at the old farm house and spoke to the 83 year old owner.
"Sure, there's lots of turkeys down below, they like the water and the lower pastures, go where ever you want, just dont shoot the cows...."
My own personal honey hole, never seen another hunter in there and I've killed one or 2 every year for last 4-5 years.
It all started with studying maps and knocking on doors.....


View: https://youtu.be/1hMMt41kCoc?si=6gylCzRqkabxF47P

 

[AmeriKHAN]

Turkey hunting on the Westboro WMA is very challenging. I have killed a couple there but its not easy.
Too many dog walkers, runners and bikers. And the noise level from trucks and school buses nearby does not help.

You need to find some private land to hunt.
Years ago after listening to a Meateater podcast talking about "e-scouting", I pulled up some Google Earth maps of neighboring towns that had more open space and agriculture.
I found some land adjacent to state/town land with two old farms.....Looked really nice for turkeys and deer.
I drove out there, cruised around and stopped at the old farm house and spoke to the 83 year old owner.
"Sure, there's lots of turkeys down below, they like the water and the lower pastures, go where ever you want, just dont shoot the cows...."
My own personal honey hole, never seen another hunter in there and I've killed one or 2 every year for last 4-5 years.
It all started with studying maps and knocking on doors.....


View: https://youtu.be/1hMMt41kCoc?si=6gylCzRqkabxF47P

Any experience with Quisset or Pantry Brook WMAs? Looking at the satellite images Quisset has the the powerline cut throughs and is tucked away from the noise. Heavy cover and a small stream running through the woods. I know what you mean about Westborough. You can be in the middle of the woods and still here construction equipment and rt 9.

 

[HARRYM]

My neighborhood is crawling with Turkey's. (not people LOL) They are a PITA most of the time. I feed birds in the winter and the Turkey's come running when I am filling the feeders hoping to pick at what falls on the ground. Not uncommon to have 20 of them standing around waiting to see what they can get. They love grass seed and if I don't use a seeder machine they eat the seeds that I just rake in. I spread lime a week or so ago and I look up and the whole group of them is running into my yard thinking I was spreading grass seed. Several really smart ones have figured out that the dryer vent blows warm air and on cold days they sit around the vent staying warm.

Back in the 50's'60's I never saw the darn things and now to me they are like big chickens.

 

[Taipan01]

That's because in the 50's & 60's, wild turkeys were pretty much wiped out in most of New England and had been for about a century. There was an effort to use domestic turkeys to repopulate but it failed. It wasn't until the early 70's when Mass Wildlife reintroduce them with wild turkeys caught in the Adirondacks and transplanted them in the Berkshires that they once again took hold. They also released a second set locally to me.

 

[mattr0]

Any experience with Quisset or Pantry Brook WMAs? Looking at the satellite images Quisset has the the powerline cut throughs and is tucked away from the noise. Heavy cover and a small stream running through the woods. I know what you mean about Westborough. You can be in the middle of the woods and still here construction equipment and rt 9.

Quisset gets a ton of pressure. I'm a sucker for punishment but I've never seen so many guys and so little evidence of turkey any where else I hunt

 

[whacko]

That's because in the 50's & 60's, wild turkeys were pretty much wiped out in most of New England and had been for about a century. There was an effort to use domestic turkeys to repopulate but it failed. It wasn't until the early 70's when Mass Wildlife reintroduce them with wild turkeys caught in the Adirondacks and transplanted them in the Berkshires that they once again took hold. They also released a second set locally to me.

Wild turkey is the greatest conservation success story in US history. It wasn't just new england.....wild turkeys were almost gone nation wide.

 

[Sparkey]

I feel Mass Turkey season is about a month to late seems they are always gobbling earlier and when the season comes around they are all shacked up with a hen.
Just my observations as a hack turkey hunter.

 

[whacko]

I feel Mass Turkey season is about a month to late seems they are always gobbling earlier and when the season comes around they are all shacked up with a hen.
Just my observations as a hack turkey hunter.

Hell nh doesn't open till may 1

 

[AmeriKHAN]

Quisset gets a ton of pressure. I'm a sucker for punishment but I've never seen so many guys and so little evidence of turkey any where else I hunt

I guess one of the advantages I have is I work Friday through Monday so I have the middle of the week to go hunting and fishing while almost everybody is at work.

 

[Palladin]

walk around Brookline MA with a bat. they're chasing the mailmen every day there

 

[HorizontalHunter]

I feel Mass Turkey season is about a month to late seems they are always gobbling earlier and when the season comes around they are all shacked up with a hen.
Just my observations as a hack turkey hunter.

You can try mid to late morning hunts after the hens head back to nest and the Tom’s are back out on the prowl.

 

[gerrycaruso]

They're everywhere. There were 9 in my backyard a couple of days ago. My son got one at Harvard Sportsmans Club right after a cruiser drove down the dirt road to check out the club. The cop later thanked him for not shooting the bumper off his car.

 

[Scallops4Life]

I have about 60 un the neighborhood with about 10 guinea fowls with them.

 

[StevieP]

There is publicly accessible land in Grafton that has turkeys. Some is just public or state land.

Some is GLT land: Grafton Land Trust — Hunting

 

[AmeriKHAN]

There is publicly accessible land in Grafton that has turkeys. Some is just public or state land.

Some is GLT land: Grafton Land Trust — Hunting

Hmm I do a lot of fishing in Grafton so I know the area pretty well. It's my understanding that so long as you 500ft from a house or occupied building you can hunt and discharge firearms unless the town has an ordinance in place. The question is figuring out where the property lines are.

 

[StevieP]

Hmm I do a lot of fishing in Grafton so I know the area pretty well. It's my understanding that so long as you 500ft from a house or occupied building you can hunt and discharge firearms unless the town has an ordinance in place. The question is figuring out where the property lines are.

Yep I lived in Grafton many years. Go to the end of Fay Mountain Road Enter the trail and then go down to the fields below. Or just as you start up George Hill Road there's a 'trailhead' on the right that leads out to a good area (at least it did. they put in some new houses off Merriam that back up to the field). Further up George Hill Road, on the left, look for Soap Hill Road. there was a Christmas tree farm the owners donated the land to the town. Park on Soap Hill and walk in over the chain.

 

[whacko]

Hmm I do a lot of fishing in Grafton so I know the area pretty well. It's my understanding that so long as you 500ft from a house or occupied building you can hunt and discharge firearms unless the town has an ordinance in place. The question is figuring out where the property lines are.

Onx hunt app

 

[mattr0]

I guess one of the advantages I have is I work Friday through Monday so I have the middle of the week to go hunting and fishing while almost everybody is at work.

All good stuff, just know that birds who have been under pressure are a lot more cautious than birds who have had less pressure, and they don't care if it's a work day.

 

[gerrycaruso]

I don't hunt anymore but I'd expect less competition from other hunters on a week day.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

FWIW

I would suggest that posting locations on the interwebz isn’t a good idea and a great use of PM’s

Over the years I have had several great spots destroyed that way.